Chronobiology
Author: Christian Mauricio Carpio Romero | email: ccarpio@leloir.org.ar
Christian Mauricio Carpio Romero 1°, Lia Frenkel 2°, María Fernanda Ceriani 1°
1° Laboratorio de genética del comportamiento – Fundación Instituto Leloir – Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires (CONICET)
2° Laboratorio de Neurociencias del tiempo – IB3 – Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales – Universidad de Buenos Aires (CONICET)
Living organisms have an internal biological clock that oscillates with a period of approximately 24 hours, regulating different aspects of physiology, namely metabolism and behaviour differentially throughout the day. In Drosophila, the central circadian clock comprises 150 neurons organized in different clusters, which receive inputs from the environment, process information and organize the animal activity pattern daily. The interaction among these clusters through neuropeptides has extensively been studied. However, more recently, the impact of communication through classical neurotransmitters and their role in the temporal organization of daily activities has been uncovered. In this work we explored the role of the different neurotransmitters released by a group of neurons in the circadian network. Previous work in our laboratory had established that the sLNvs release both glycine and acetylcholine. Spatially and temporally altering either neurotransmission system (or both), triggered unexpected circadian phenotypes. Next we sought to define their postsynaptic targets and contribution to the circadian network. For this purpose we took advantage of Trans-tango, a genetic tool that lights up post-synaptic candidates by anatomical proximity. These results show that the sLNvs could communicate among themselves, as well as with additional clock clusters, namely the LNds, to which the regulation of the activity in the day-night transition is attributed.